For drilling, how about 10-12, and 2-4?

The current version of the new Home Improvements Pack says that drilling should only take place between 10 am and 4 pm.

I have talked to one Barbican builder who said, “No, we only do drilling from 10 till 12, and from 2 till 4, because people need to be able to come home for lunch, and builders also need a lunch break.” That all seems very reasonable to me (except that I thought builders took much longer lunch breaks). It means that when drilling is very noisy, neighbours may need to go out to avoid it altogether, but only for two-hour periods, not for the entire day. I would like to suggest that this change should be made in the new Home Improvements Pack.

I appreciate that one downside of this might be that work which could have been done in one continuously noisy day, will now involve a second day of maybe a couple of hours of noise. But I think that the builders can quite easily consult the neighbours – perhaps put up a note in the lobby saying they propose to do the work in one hit if that’s better for the residents – and if no-one bitterly objects, then on that occasion the builders should be able to do it right through the lunch period. Once everyone starts cooperating, and residents don’t feel they are just victims whose voices aren’t heard (please excuse the pun or whatever), I think the builders might find that working becomes easier, not more difficult.

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One thought on “For drilling, how about 10-12, and 2-4?”

Limiting the hours would be good on the day but if chasing out walls throughout a flat is allowed to continue albeit on reduced hours per day then the excruciating noise would go on for even more months, yes months.
There are perfectly good ways to fully modernise flats without installing suspended ceilings and indulging in extensive channeling into the concrete.
As a community we should organise ourselves to discourage non residents from commissioning works which render their neighbours’ homes uninhabitable for many weeks duriing working hours.
I say non residents because the works involving suspended ceilings and chasing out walls can only be done in vacant properties.